absolutely right, windy. it will be no laissez faire matter, wherein Yuberkis will be selling fried cotorra and mero to wide eyed visitors, and pocketing all the cash. Carnival will be at the center of every penny exchanged, in one form or another.
- Thread starter Conchman
- Start date
Carnival Cruise Lines - Port in Maimon
absolutely right, windy. it will be no laissez faire matter, wherein Yuberkis will be selling fried cotorra and mero to wide eyed visitors, and pocketing all the cash. Carnival will be at the center of every penny exchanged, in one form or another.
Can't say for certain in the DR, but Carnival charges a fee for all excursions that are "approved" by them. They charge taxis, boats, kayak tours, diving excursions, and fishing charters. The vendors will have this to figure into their price.
it is the reality everywhere cruise ships operate. Carnival gives out its list of approved tours, transportation, restaurants, and stores. this is no free for all thing.
Yes, Carnival will take a cut wherever it can. There will be stores they recommend, and get a kickback. On the city tour they will be taken to stores. Prices will be about 30% higher than normal so that Carnival gets its kickback.
But not everyone books the cruise ship offerings. There will be taxis outside the gate to take people to POP to look around and shop on their own. Before long, there will be independent tour operators offering excursion at a lower price than what carnival charges. Over time, if Maimon is popular, there will be more independent people making some money from the passengers.
The main the Caranival excurions cost more is because Carnival gets a cut.
I'm in a forum now for the coming cruise and a large number of the posts are by people lining up excursions from independents.
trust me on this one, Ken. there will be independent tour operators, but they will be hand picked by Carnival, and they will get all the ink, and they will kick back to Carnival, and squeeze out the other guys.
look at reviews for the Jamaican cruise terminal in Falmouth. look at the ones that deal with the tours. i have read about 30 or so, and there is only one company i have read about, and it is run by a lady. there is no doubt that she is the chosen one, or one of them, since nobody else ever gets a mention.
her name, by the way, is Patrice Bailey. it appears in at least 80 percent of the reviews.
You may or may not be right, time will tell. I'm not talking about this year, but in the future.
The location, of course, works in Carnival's favor. Many times the ships tie up at a pier in a town/city, or tender passengers to a dock on shore. No question that makes it easier for independents of all types to compete with the cruise lines. I haven't seen the cruise port in Maimon, but it is my understanding it is more isolated than many, thus making it easier for Carnival to exercise control.
But as I said, time will tell. I'm not ready to agree that your post is etched in stone.
Many on DR1 will remember Dean and Wanda Brown, Dean was the top seller for Perdomo Real Estate before the bottom dropped out of the market. When that happened they went back to North Carolina to work.
They go on a lot of cruises and are booked on one in December, I think, that leaves from South Carolina and has Maimon as one of the stops. I'll be very interested in getting their thoughts regarding Maimon and what they hear from other passengers.
Sorry when ever we are on a cruise we get off the boat and make arrangements for tours and excursions with the local vendors "outsiede" the gate area. Usually prices are much better and MORE important for us is that more $$$ are going to the local workers and not the cruise, who are making enough money off of me. It is a way to make sure my $$ goes to the local economy.
Bob K
Bob K
LOL (sorry Bob).
I am sure more experienced cruisers do this, but what is the percentage who do?
another article on carnival being the saviour of the north coast: Aseguran construcci?n terminal de cruceros ha motivado a inversionistas internacionales a venir a Puerto Plata - Puerto Plata Digital
Absolutely right. And they do well because they charge less. Waiting outside is not a big deal for the independents
i do not believe that there is such a creature who , when spending money on vacation, tries to insure that all his money goes to the locals. they just want a good deal, and they do not care who gives it to them, be it Bigfoot or the Man in the Moon.